


Pale Horse

by Verde_Dew



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Amorra Week, F/M, OC villain - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 08:51:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15215513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verde_Dew/pseuds/Verde_Dew
Summary: After Korra's epidemic in the Northern Water Tribe, the spirit portals are open and begin creating new changes. Korra is expected to face any type of danger in order to bring balance - even if that includes reliving the past all over again. Old faces will rise again, and bonds will mend and break.





	1. Me And The Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks. So this is a story I started back in 2014 that I'm trying to find motivation to finish. The first chapter posted below is technically Chapter 19, since I am carrying this story over from my Fanfic account that I barely use anymore. If you would like to read previous chapters to get a better understanding of the story, you may check it out here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10060735/1/Pale-Horse
> 
> This is overall an Amorra fanfic (AmonxKorra) but this was another way for me to get my creative juices flowing for my own personal use when it comes to practicing writing horror, especially for my own novel. This story I felt was dying, but I'm going to try to be better about updating since I use this site a lot more frequently.
> 
> If you're going into this story blind - that's okay too.   
> To summarize quickly, Noatak and Tarrlok escaped the boat explosion and Korra came across Tarrlok during her travels. They set out to find the former Equalist in the North, where they come across a man named Shoichi who they later discover, is a bad man. Aside from this, elsewhere in the world there is a firebender cannibal running lose eating people and destroying villages with her partner, who is a skilled water bender. The duo make the trek North and come across the Avatar and company.   
> Currently, Korra is out due to a leg injury and is unconscious back at the house where Tarrlok keeps an eye on her. Noatak leaves to investigate the burning village where he is met face to face with the frightening pair. Shoichi ends up escaping, enraging the cannibal and her partner, knocking Noatak unconscious when he is defeated in battle. 
> 
>  
> 
> And just as with this story, chapter title is based on a song.   
> Enjoy!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd9LpME3jnk

Noatak came to in a dark corner of a room illuminated by dull flames, orange and red hues dancing off the blackened stone walls. The room was enclosed, that much was for certain. A large metal door stood tall with an opening at the top only accessible by the other side. Looking down at his hands and feet, no chains bind him in place. Meaning he is free to roam. Much of the large room is still dark, standing to take a better look around. The floor is all but dirt with no windows to line either side of the solid walls, only two torches lighting both corners of the room. 

Knowing it was likely futile, Noatak went for the door regardless and to his dismay, it opened willingly. Outside the door it was pitch black, no noise or movement to be seen even with strained eyes. Returning to the room to snatch a torch off the wall, he pushes forward, the flames guiding his way. Before him stands a long staircase that leads up, following it until it came to an end, the flat floor stretching into a long hallway. Cracks line the ceiling above, soft ash tumbling in and cascading the floor with soot beneath his feet. He realizes the entire hallway is near covered in the black and gray remains. The breeze of the night winds enter the halls with a cool touch. The air is warm. 

_ ‘Fire Nation.’ _ He theorizes, walking cautiously towards each door to inspect the inside. Some of the metal doors had been boiled down in heaps on the floor before the entrance. Others had been broken down or didn’t exist. Each room was about the same size as the room in the lower level with nothing inside but burned walls. How had he been unconscious long enough to be transported this far? Or was this just a dream? 

It felt much too real to be a dream. 

The building didn’t strike him as a usual prison so much as it did a building for either storage or containment. With the remains of what was left of this monument it was safe to say whatever it was being used for did a terrible job keeping something in - or out. 

Eventually a large room comes into the clearing with four large pillars that hold the ceiling up and dark maroon plastered on the wall like art. The room reeks of death and carnage but there are no corpses to be found. Only a trail of dried blood on the floor and the heavy stench that wafted.

Sudden movement arouses his attention coming from the exit of the large chamber. He makes use to blend in with the shadows and secure the upper hand before the captor has a chance to. Noatak expects to see the cannibal or her teammate but was rewarded with neither.

A soft gasp almost gone unnoticed catches his attention the instant the familiar figure emerges from the door, seeing a glimpse of him. How  _ foolish _ of him to think he could control the situation. To think others wouldn’t get hurt or captured.

“This is my fault.” The spite rolls off his tongue with a bitter taste once it’s out in the air. Often times this side would show itself. Aside that rivaled Yakone’s personality of self hate projected onto others. Noatak didn’t bother to suppress the crude tone. It didn’t matter anymore. He was already livid with internal rage at his screw up. All the years of precise calculations and years of study and practice spent in the Equalists base of operations and still he failed. Even now most knowledge and memories of information learned began to slip between the cracks of the man's interior, spilling out like a statue that’s been chipped away over the years piece by piece. Not once had there been a life threatening mission since the end of Amon, one that weighed the lives of others and not just himself. A mission that concluded in failure thanks to a genuine lack of perception and underestimating. Amon had fallen and so too had the Equalists skills with it it would seem. 

_ ‘This is a game to torment me, surely _ .’ If this is some type of illusion or dream Noatak wasn’t certain what step to take next or if by some wrong choice he becomes stuck in this nightmare or trans. The fabric on the man's skin feels real enough. Realer than any dream.

But this was not real. Could not be. 

The Avatar  _ walked _ . Certainly he had not been asleep long enough for Korra to recover. In this maze of corridors and broken rooms the thought crosses his mind that perhaps she is here to guide a way out like some spiritual guide. When Korra steps into the light her frame becomes clear enough to make out in the light of the flames. Her face is crusted with dried tears, sunken bags under her eyes and trembling lips. It was plain to see there was more to it than just assumptions. 

The rage within only boiled more plaguing his mind with dark thoughts that led to the worst possibilities.

Korra stepped forward but did not speak. She placed a finger over her lip to silence him and ran a hand along his arm, gripping the hem of his cloak and pulling him to the corner and out of sight. Movement roused from the same door she entered through and two bodies stepped forward into the light. The man, he recognized instantly. 

Shoichi, though much younger with less creases in that tight sharp face of his, entered the room dragging along a heavy object behind him that slid feebly along the floor. He cursed and berated, mumbling under his breath over and over about a failure from a project, tugging along the mangled mess behind him.

Korra’s breathing hitched and he could feel her trembling fingers through the cloth on his arm, pinching nearly hard enough to draw blood.

There, pulled to her feet, is what looked to be a young Vinioz, limp limbs and caked in blood, barely hanging on by the cusp of death. The color in her eyes have faded and crust over with defeat. To see this is a different contrast in comparison to the cannibal Noatak had seen before. Here, this girl was utterly broken.  _ ‘And so young…’ _

The two of them watch from the shadows until Korra begins to speak, but before she can utter a syllable Noatak is quick to throw his hand over her mouth, only removing it when realizing her voice does not attract the attention of the man and child in passing.

“They can’t hear us?” He asks confused.

“Nor can they see us.” Korra comments, her eyes filled with a sadness that can’t quite be explained. It reminds Noatak of the look he saw many times over from his mother, the look of sympathy. The Avatar turns to face him, her hand still tightly woven into his forearm. “I’ve been here for hours and nothing I’ve said or done has mattered. If this is a dream...I haven’t been able to wake up.” 

Noatak scans the room once more, taking in the surroundings. If this was some type of illusion they’d need to find a way out as soon as possible. “What was the last thing you remember?” 

Korra shrugs. “You fixing my leg, I guess. But I shouldn’t be able to walk...right?”

He nods in agreement. “It may be possible you’ve already been captured and I failed. We may be under hypnosis as we speak. But why would the woman force us to see her own childhood?”

“Woman? What woman? Do you know the girl Shoichi was dragging?” There is hope in her eyes. She thinks she can by some chance help stop what has already come to pass. But that’s just it - this  _ is  _ the past. By no actions would they be able to alter it. Noatak had almost all but forgotten Korra was knocked out unconscious before he came face to face with the duo in the village. The last thing she should remember is Shoichi before he escaped.

“It is not by her doing.” A deep rumbling voice echoes off the walls, contorted and deep. Both benders turn around to inspect but to no avail do they find the object of interest. There is no water to bend or blood flow to sense from the girl beside him, rendering him useless. Bending must not work here.

Korra steps forward, ready to fight and eyes every corner of the room with caution. Her legs may suddenly work, but to what extent? “Show yourself!” She shouts, hands balled into fists and a fiery passion in her eyes that was all too familiar during their own showdown, a time that felt like a lifetime ago now. And to think how far they had come since. 

The voice echoes the walls again and both are positive it’s not just them imagining things. “You are in the spirit world, trapped within the same cage as I. When your physical bodies wake you will leave this place, and I will not. The two of you are connected to both worlds, the physical and spiritual. You are here because you sought out answers for which I am granting you.” From the shadows of the room cast in the corner of the walls, shapes begin to bend and mold into beastly forms, taking on the forms of three large grizzly wolves, erect and bulked, standing tall. The first one that steps into the light is larger than its counterparts, its mane bristling with wisps of ash escaping off its fleshy fur. It turns its gaze to Noatak and Korra, eyes as gray as the moon's surface. 

“What answers?” Noatak questions aloud, eyes still glued to the beasts. He has reason to believe neither of the creatures before him are the one speaking and controlling what’s happening. But if they’re seeing memories…

“Do you plan to help us bring her down?” 

The dark voice chuckles and the wolves creep closer, attentively moving back and forth before them as though to put up a barricade or patiently waiting on a command to attack. “No.” It answers. “I want to seperate us.”

“Separate?” Korra bawks in surprise and confusion. She bites back a gasp at the feel of his hand snaking up her arm, ready to throw or shove her away if need be. These wolves looked at them like they were meant to be food with a hunger Noatak was not willing to sate. “What does he mean?” 

“Korra, I need you to wake us both up. I don’t know how and I don’t care how you do it. Do it  _ now. _ ” The tremble in his voice was escaping. The odds were against them. They wouldn’t survive if they didn’t get out now. If his assumptions were right, neither of them would make it out of here with their lives in tact.

“Noa-”

“I know who he is.” Noatak grinds his teeth in disbelief. “My mother used to tell Tarlokk and I stories before bed about a spirit who feasted on the flesh of men. An entity that grew in strength bathing in the flames and rising from the ashes...but to think it exists  _ inside _ someone.”

He turns to her and her expression is mirroring his own. Panic and fear. “The cannibal and her partner who burned down the village. I wasn’t able to stop them. The woman’s strength and raw power was beyond that of a normal bender...She was burning. Her skin was peeling off everywhere and she acted like it was nothing.”

“That...That’s impossible. It doesn’t make any sense.” Korra’s face pinched, mouth gaped open in disbelief. The Avatar was attempting to rack her mind around the new information, the next best course of action to get them out alive. But to no avail did a solution come. She was too taken back by the spoken words and belief that such a malevolent spirit could reside in a mere human - though Raava and Vaatu had disproven that point, showing its possibilities successful. Spirits could inhabit humans, just not by easy means.

Screams then echo from the corridor leading down to the floor below, the girls wail screeching through the night. Shoichi must have locked her away in one of the rooms Noatak had passed by earlier. “I mean to make a bargain.” The voice adds, disregarding the cries and acting disinterested in the sounds. The structure then rumbles from the high pitched screaming, a large tremor coursing through the walls and flooring. Korra almost stumbles but holds tightly to the arm of the man still holding her back. The yelling then goes silent as does the shaking of the building. A silence befalls and the wolves eyes move to the staircase descending downwards, back to where Noatak had first climbed up. 

The mention of a bargain brought to fruition skepticism. “What could you have to offer us?” Heat rose lightly to his cheeks at the sudden feel of a warm hand slipping into his own, soft and hard with calluses all in the same. The Avatar’s firm grip alleviated to the fact she may have come up with a plan. ‘ _ Be ready.’ _

“Peace.” It answers. “My host is formidable. I respect her and our contract both. We are on even ground, helping one another. But should she die, so too will I. Help her defeat Shoichi and no longer will she seek to need my strength. You will no longer need to worry about the tyrant cannibal who burns down cities and nations.”

“And if we kill you both?” Korra states, clearly a threat. She could hear fragments of the curling voice in the dark rolling off its tongue in satisfaction and amusement from the question.

“Then you will never know the other side of humanity that has been cloaked in shadow since the dawn of time. There are forces of nature not even you or your predecessors are knowledgeable of, young Avatar. Your text books cannot tell you the decrepit secrets of the what truly binds the spirit world to your own. The monsters that built these worlds stone by stone.”

“And we will have these answers if we agree to this bargain?” Noatak asks, the wolves moving to their haunches as though called back to attention, the former Equalist trying hard to hide his trepidation so as not to give away their complete defeat. But it was too late. The monster of the night already had them cornered. It made it out to be there was a choice, but should they reject, he considered all too thoroughly that these animals would eat them where they stood. 

The torches lining the walls flicker brightly, embers cast into the night sky of the broken ceiling opening up to the night sky, rays of the moons downcast reflecting off the stone floor in the center of the room. Something moves out from the corner of their eyes, chunks of charred wall wisping into the air and clumping together to take shape. The size is hulking and massive, towering over like a giant with outstretched limbs caked in ash and burned flesh. Cropped black hair with a strip of maroon in the center hangs over it’s taught jawed face, teeth as sharp as it’s long penetrable claws.  _ But it’s eyes. _

As black as the night sky and pupils as dark and red as the fresh blood pouring from ones veins.

The creature draws its clawed hand over the surface of the wall, cracks and crevices glowing alight in deep ambers, the torches growing in size. The light follows along each wall until covering the entirety of the room, basking them in fire and a heat near unbearable.

“So...Do we have a deal?”


	2. Mycenaeans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra is still unconscious, Noatak has been captured by the cannibal, and Tarrlok is forced to make a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry guys. After 19 chapters I finally realized I was spelling his name wrong. But I fixed it this time around. :')
> 
>  
> 
> Theme song chapter is Mycenaeans by Giant Squid.   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtOrmEKQZQE

Tarrlok finds himself thankful to the fact Noatak kept a tv in his room, though very doubtful it was put to use often. After being left behind to watch over a comatose Avatar with not much else to be done aside from waiting and reading, his anxiety got the better of him. The peace and isolation found out here was a rejuvenating breath of fresh air, or at least was - until now. 

The silence and loneliness could only last so long. He began to ponder how his brother had lived out here alone for such a time with no form of complaints.

The idea of taking a hot shower before Korra and Noatak returned back home initially placated his mind. Any further plans beyond that were soon shot down at the arrival of his brother, the Avatar fast asleep within his arms as he ushered himself inside, giving little to no explanation as to what was to proceed after should plans go weary.

But now far too much time has passed and Noatak has yet to return. Desperate for any trace of what was happening, Tarrlok took it upon him to do something productive.

Deciding to check to see if the old tv covered in dust in the corner of the room still worked, he moves it effortlessly to the front of the bed, hooking up the cords in the back and retrieving a chair from downstairs to sit on. Flicking on the switch, only a blank screen and white noise vibrated through the box. What he saw on the screen was not what he expected. 

_ Screecchhhhhh. _

The video flips on to show a woman on screen, hunched over an object, ripping it apart with ferocity. When she moves to better angle herself, the object of interest is revealed to be a man, severely burned, his innards being torn out from his belly.

_ “Cut it, cut it!”  _ A woman from behind the recording whispers loudly to the person holding the video camera so as not to be spotted from their hiding spot.

Finally the tv turns over to the woman leading the news channel. Her frame appears unharmed, though face is pasted and mangled in distraught. Her eyes screw and her breathing staggerers, trying to control her nerves. It takes moments before the reporter can muster the courage to finally look straight into the camera and push back fear. 

“ _ We’re getting live footage of this... And it’s...it’s terrifying. The woman seems to have begun eating the man promptly after she burned him alive...Spectators are saying it’s the same killer from Republic City.”  _

The frightened reporter is unable to draw her eyes away from the scene the moment she casts a glance back over to it. Her lips tremble in a desperate attempt to continue forward, aware she is still being recorded.

Something happens and the sounds of shouting and yelling increases likely from the villages fleeing the scene in a fit of commotion.  _ “Oh thank the spirits,”  _ She sighs in relief _. “Backup has just arrived.” _

There is a lingering silence for moments, up until the TV turns black due to a loss of connection. Tarrlok sits up and moves to adjust the cords and antenna in an attempt to fix it. After two minutes of fidgeting with the damn thing it finally comes back on, immediately cutting back to the same reporter as before while in mid-speech _.  _ He hoped that would be the end of it. That Noatak would walk back into the house unharmed and in tact. Unfortunately, that was not the case. 

_ “No one can stop her. And oh - spirits, I’m being told now that a Northern tribe man is trying to stop the woman single handedly!” _

Tarrlok can’t believe what he’s seeing. The TV reveals a man he instantly recognizes as Noatak, submerged in battle and struggling to keep up with the woman’s stamina. The fight is unlike anything he has ever seen. The woman even more so a plundering mystery of raw power. He feels his stomach wrench at the thought his eldest brother could very well lose not only his life, but his carcass as well, becoming fresh meat to an opponent with an upper hand.

The knot grows deeper. Tarrlok can feel his knuckles turn white while clenched into fists upon his lap. There is an unsettling sensation that can’t be placed into words.

The camera angle finally changes and allows for a view of the battle from above. Even with waterbending he knows Noatak is very much out of practice in skill compared to his opponent. His brother won’t be able to last if he doesn’t do something. He turns to Korra, still sleeping. Paying better attention after not having noticed it before, Korra’s eyebrows are pinched, a pained expression along her face and lips that trembled uncontrollably. The first insinuation is a nightmare, so he does what he can to in order to ease her into comfort. Placing a hand on her shoulder, the waterbender softly but assertively shakes her. “Korra, wake up. You’re safe.”

He wants to help as best he can, seeing as she gave them both a second chance, but he knows the Avatar is least likely to accept his and his brothers amends. Especially if Noatak had anything to do with the condition of her legs. 

He tried once more, gently rocking her shoulder. Still, she did not stir. 

Korra’s mouth opened as if to speak, though nothing came out. Only soft murmuring of incoherent words. 

_ “Oh...Oh no. It...it seems the woman has received backup. Two men have come to her aid just now. One is the waterbender that was last seen with her but the third man is not someone we are able to identify just yet.” _

The woman's eyes deceived her. She spoke of help coming to the rescue but the look in her face said all he needed to know. Noatak was outnumbered and was at an even higher disadvantage.

His brother would likely die if Tarrlok didn’t act right now.

_ “Where is the Avatar when we need her? Everyone please, stay safe wherever you are.” _

Having no more of this, the former politician could sit around no longer and reduce himself to babysitting when his own flesh and blood and the last remaining family member hung on the line. He turns to the Avatar, knowing he is abandoning her and leaving her vulnerable. Somehow the thought does not pain him nearly as much as abandoning his brother to keep some promise. 

_ “Oh-Okay, we’re getting word that help is on the way. Men are on the scene assessing the situation the best they can.” _

Tarrlok watches the TV, nerves shot and anxiousness coursing through his veins. But there isn’t any time to wait on reinforcements. If they did manage to save Noatak’s life, the moment they found out who he was they would surely kill him. Being exposed as Amon and being recognized was the last thing he wished for his brother right after he had found peace of mind out here.

Bending or no bending, the man comes to a resolution and makes his decision. Tarrlok reaches for his coat, taking one last look at Korra, settled down and finally breathing evenly in a restful slumber, and departs to go fight for the first time in many years. 


End file.
